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Steve's Blog

We have revamped the website! Special thanks to Sergio and Romina for their great video work! You can reach Sergio at iamfacundo@gmail.com.

We have redefined the marketing plan for Xfoos. Any foosball player can now start a side vending business with Xfoos tables, anywhere in the USA for a minimal down payment, and we will let you pay out the balance as you go! Contact us to see how this program works.

We have tweaked our 3 models and are ready to sell after all this time. We have our timed vending model, our timed home model, and the “classic” foos table with scoring beads for the home. The timed foosball is definitely more exciting to play.

In this blog we will be discussing foosball playing tips and other interesting foosball related items in the near future.

Tonight I am thinking about how hard it is to setup a foosball organization from scratch as one would like to see it. I have been reading all the comments from folks concerning the current state of affairs: Tournament problems, player issues, rule issues, table issues, no guidance, too much guidance, expensive buy-ins, not enough prize money, no long term plan for foosball, etc. etc. Our master plan addresses all these issues.

I have taken great pains to get Xfoos “right” before anyone sees it or buys it. This has been a long road and is about over. The man has yet been refined once more. Why refine a man 3 times before the public sees it? Why try 12 balls until the right one comes along? Because a second to none table is what I am after.

And what about the rest of the story? Well, the rules have been tweaked again, the format of the tournaments is ready, and the USXFF rating system is setup.

Also, I see we have a Fireball table now. People have asked me what do I think about it? Well, it is just another mechanical table, it has no timer on it, and it sells for too cheap of a price for the coin industry to embrace the table. It will always be compared to a Tornado. And why should a person buy one when they can get a Tornado? It does not make sense to me. I wish them well, but I do not see this as the end all solution. And no one can make any money at that price and the table is not worth any more than what it is selling for since it has not proven it can earn a return for the operator. The Xfoos table can make over $100/week with just 9 hours of playing time on it per week. True, players may like the fireball price, but if the distribution network does not take the table then it will go nowhere. Just my take.

So we are still moving forward, preparing, tweaking, until the time is right and then we will be having Austin and Texas events very soon now. One problem has also been re-setting up the Austin Foosball Club in what is now called the Treehouse. It is about ready too.

I am reminded of the story of the “Little Steam Engine That Could”. It huffed and puffed until it was done. Then it was going downhill. After 6 years Xfoos is about to go downhill.

As some of you know I recently debuted the new “Xfoos” foosball table. This table has many cool features such as the playfield, the colors, and the rod action. We have tweaked the foot for greater banking action, the ball is right, and we have electronics in the table that take it to another world.

So now what? A tour? I decided to setup the Austin Foosball Club. I want to see if the city of Austin can support a foosball club. There will be no alcohol, but will have BYOB. There will only be 8 tables to start. We have pictures on the walls of the old time pioneers. It should be fun. We will try to setup leagues, have some tournaments, have some clinics/lessons, sell merchandise, and more. A “new-old fashioned” foosball club is what this will be. People will practice and train here.

Once we have players playing we will then have regional tournaments and possibly a TX tour first. But it is the goal to have a great foundation of players that love this table and play it regardless of money. Money should not be the reason folks play on this table.

What are we going to do to get new players? We are going to get people in here via leagues, tournaments, parties, lessons, off the street, and any way we can figure out how to. I want to see if “Joe normal corporate guy” would want to come play foosball after work. I want to see if a club like this can make money. And if it can then foosball is definitely not dead. And if it can support itself then foosball is more than just a bar game – which we all know it is. It is the draw itself.

Well folks…we finally debuted the Xfoos tables. We setup the tables, setup the food, and waited for the people. First a few foosers from Harlingen came. Then Carlos with his camera. Then a few more foosers. Finally LOTS of folks coming in to see what the Xfoos is all about.

So, what happened? The PC Board in the electronic table goes on the blink. Oh well.

But to watch the folks play and get their positive feedback made it all worthwhile. Here are pics from the event. Stay tuned to our website for future events.

I am sitting here as I write thinking back to Christmas night 2003. It was a lonely night. I went to my favorite restaurant that night kind of depressed (the place is called “Paradise” no less). I was sitting at the bar thinking about the Las Vegas Warrior tournament that had taken place in November. I am sure many of you were there. I thought about the future of foosball and wondered if Warrior was the answer.

Steve Simon premieres Xfoos

I decided that night to design the Xfoos table (folks don’t know but I have been a part of 5 table designs in the past including Dynamo, Striker, and more). I wanted to make this table special. I took a napkin from the bar along with my trusty “fine” point pen and started to draw a new looking table. I thought about all the things we could do to make foosball better.

Coming from the “old school” I wanted a universal foosball foot – something that could bring back the bank shot and chip pass. I wanted a different playfield. How about a better light I thought. And on and on – and I started to develop the concept for this table.

Well, the project grew and grew and here we are, finally, almost 6 years later ready to show the world a new foosball table. Along the way I looked at different ways to market and promote the table. I pulled ideas on how to run tournaments from the USCF and USTTA (US Chess Federation and the US Table Tennis Association). We will see these used in the spring of next year.

But most important, and I truly think this is the new way foosball will be played, we developed a timed foosball table (patents pending) complete with electronic LED timing and scoring. It even has timeout buttons on the side to stop the clock. The balls are ejected one at a time. It is a beautiful table! But, will players like it? Read more »